DreamWorks gets ‘Wicked’ rights

Benay brothers to adapt young adult book series

DreamWorks has acquired the rights to the young adult book series “Wicked.”

Brothers Aaron and Matthew Benay have signed on to write the adaptation based on their own pitch. The Gotham Group will produce.

Written by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie, the five-book series centers on a young woman who learns she is a descendant of a powerful coven of witches. Complications arise when she falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a member of a rival coven.

The first two books in the bestselling series, “Witch” and “Curse,” were published in 2002, followed by “Legacy” and “Spellbound” in 2003. The fifth book, “Resurrection,” was published in July.

The Benays wrote the screenplay “1906”; Pixar, Warner Bros. and director Brad Bird are working on the project for a 2012 release.